Midnight Madness
by Crimson Eyed Dragon
Summary: ABANDONED See Profile AU Now that Mokuba is grown up and has left for college, Seto decides to adopt a child to train to take over Kaiba Corp and to fill the empty space in his home. Little does he know that the boy he adopted has a secret that will chang
1. Chapter 1

Title: Midnight Madness  
Author: Crimson Eyed Dragon  
Rating: PG - 13  
Pairing: Seto X Yami  
Warnings: language (for now)  
Disclaimer: Yugioh does not belong to me  
Summary: Now that Mokuba is grown up and has left for college, Seto decides to adopt a child to train to take over Kaiba Corp and to fill the empty space in his home. Little does he know that the boy he adopted has a secret that will change Seto's life forever.

Dragon: Yes, yes I know another chibi story, but I promise this one will be different. First off it's an AU – so no Sennen Items, no pharaohs, etc. Atemu will act strange for his age but there are reasons for it that will be explained much later.

_A BIG thanks to Elektra for this wonderful plot demon that she let me adopt! And also a big thanks to Pysche, Rekall and Desidera for the constant encouragement (aka: pestering) that they gave me to do this story._

**Chapter 1**

Cold sapphire eyes bore into wide, timid green as their owner gulped, hands tightening their grip on the various manila folders clutched against her chest.

"But Mr. Kaiba! You said that you wanted to see boys between the ages of four and eight!"

"No, I believe my words were 'I wanted to see _intelligent_ boys between the ages four and eight.' These here," he said as he swept his arm out over the room full of scared, nervous children, "are far from what I requested. Now either you show me ones that I'm looking for or I'll pull my funding and go some where else."

Gulping once more, the middle-woman nodded her head, "Alright, come this way Mr. Kaiba."

Seto followed her down the hallway, never once caring to look around at his surroundings. He wasn't here to sightsee. Soon, he found himself in a back room that by looks of it was the orphanage's library. Impassive blue eyes looked at the women questionably. "Why are we here? There is no one here that I can see."

"Oh, he's here somewhere. I just have to find him."

Eyebrow raised, Seto watched her as she carefully peered around each shelf as if she was looking for a wild animal that would spring out at her any second now. Rounding around the last corner, the woman came to a stop and sighed. Her gaze flickered back to the imposing CEO.

"If you want intelligent, then this is the boy you are looking for. But I have to warn you, he is not the most loveable little guy." _He reminds me of you, _she thought silently.

"Hn. I'll be the judge of that."

The social worker nodded her head, extended her arm out to show Kaiba where to go, then stepped back to watch the exchange that she knew was going to be rather impressive to say the least.

Narrowing his eyes, Seto stepped around the corner and paused to look at the young boy sitting cross-legged on the dull gray industrial carpet. His head was bowed, pouring over some book the kid held in his lap. Small fingers were poised over the corner of the page, ready to turn it as soon as his eyes came to the last sentence.

Seto raised an eyebrow at the lack of acknowledgement that young kid was giving the two adults. He was sure that unless the kid was deaf, the other knew of their presence. Clearing his throat, he walked over to the boy and crouched down beside him. Sapphire eyes took in the small form before him.

The kid had strange tri-colored locks, from golden bangs that adorned his face and hid his eyes, to pure ebony that faded into dark crimson at the ends. It stood up on it's own, he could tell, for there were no traces of hair products to interfere with it's natural shine. Dark bronzed skin that shown with a healthy glow covered his small body. Seto took notice of the faded blue jeans with a few holes in them and plain red t-shirt he wore and wondered if the kid had anything decent to wear.

Clearing his throat again, he spoke to get the boy's attention. "You know it's rude not to acknowledge some one."

"It's also considered rude to interrupt someone who is obviously busy and wishes to be alone."

To say that Seto was put off by the response was an understatement. This _child_ had spoke clearly as he had. The words were perfect, no childish pronunciation, nothing that resembled a mere kid. The only thing that matched the age of the kid was the softness in his voice that only a child could master.

"How old are you?"

The CEO expected a verbal response to his question but instead got an unexpected child-like response of five small fingers being held up, as the other hand flipped to the next page of the paperback book he was reading.

"What is you name?"

"Atemu." Again the voice was soft, muffled slightly by the chubby hand that was now holding his chin up as he continued to read.

"Last name?"

"I…I don't know." A light sadness was etched in those words, causing Seto to do something he had never thought he would ever do. He reached a hand out and gently tucked some of the fallen bangs behind the owner's small ear.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to upset you."

He watched as the boy tilted his head, flickering his eyes towards the brunette, causing him to hold back a gasp at the color penetrating his gaze. Unusual, beautiful, deep, rich crimson that didn't hold a child's innocence but instead held knowledge and wisdom.

"No need to be sorry, it's not like _you_ caused me to forget."

He nodded his head and figured he would change the subject. For some strange reason he didn't want to upset the boy anymore. "Atemu… that is not Japanese."

Atemu shook his head, bangs flying wildly with the motion. "Egyptian, after the mythical god of Annu." He leaned forward, forgetting about his book as he looked at Seto with a certain look. It was as if he had a big secret to tell and was itching to announce it to the world. "Did you know, that Annu was what the Egyptians called Heliopolis, which in Greek means 'City of the Sun'? In the bible it was later called On?"

"I did not know that." Seto said, mystified that a child of five would know this. "What else do you know?"

Atemu placed his book down and sat up on his knees, that excited look still in his eyes as he faced the taller man. His hands were pressed together as if trying to hold his excitement in. This was the first time anyone had ever been interested in what he knew and he was going to take advantage of it for as long as it lasted.

"Re, or Ra, the sun god's cult was centered in Annu, 'Heliopolis' in Greek and 'On' in Hebrew. Which is was near the modern day Cairo. Would you like to me to tell you about Re? I know all about him! Or maybe you would like to know about Thoth? Or Amun? Oh! How about Set!"

By now, Atemu was bouncing up and down on his legs, hands clapping, eyes glimmering with happiness, causing Seto to chuckle despite himself as he held up his hands in mock surrender.

"You don't have many friends do you?" he asked then mentally smacked himself for causing a frown to form on the child's chubby face.

"No," he said quietly as he turned away from the man, picked up his book, stood up and placed it back on the shelf in front of him. "They call me names and tell me I'm no fun to play with. But they are no fun to play with either!" Small hands balled up into fists causing his knuckles to turn white under the pressure. "I mean all they play with are trucks, dolls, and stupid dumb stuffed animals."

Seto took a quick look from the cute pouting face to look at the title of the book the boy had put back, highly impressed when he read _The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald_ written on the spine. "What do you play with?"

Crimson eyes looked back at him. Now that he was standing up, he was eye to eye with the brown-haired man. "Cards, chess, puzzles. Why? Are you going to make fun of me too?" Atemu's fists uncurled and were placed on his hips, wide crimson eyes narrowed in defiance, daring the adult to do what he asked.

Shaking his head, Seto replied; "No, on the contrary, I love to play chess. I'm rather good at it too."

"Really?" the child looked at him in awe before a rather adult looking smirk formed on his face. "Care to prove that Mister?"

Smirking right back at the challenge, Seto stood up and held out a hand for the child to take. "Just show me the chess board and I'll be more than happy to prove it."

Placing his small hand into the man's bigger one, Atemu followed Seto out of the aisle with a smile on his face. When they rounded the corner and passed the stunned social worker, Atemu stuck out his tongue at her and giggled at her scowling expression for the first time in ages.

* * *

For once in his life, Seto was completely torn. He didn't know whether to strangle the kid for slowly kicking his ass in his favorite game or to pinch his chubby cheeks and tickle him to death.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Absentmindedly, Seto tapped his fingers on the small plastic table that Atemu had forced him to sit at as he waited for the kid to make his next move. He was slightly irritated that it seemed to be taking him forever to make up his mind. But when he saw that little pink tongue begin to stick out of his mouth in concentration, Seto had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting 'cute' and 'aww' out.

It got even worse when the tiny little upturned nose scrunched up, eyes narrowed as small tanned fingers reached out to take the rook and move it to take Seto's last knight.

The little kid was an adorable, cute, intelligent pain in the ass.

Sighing at his loss of the piece, he raked his eyes over the board, looking for a weakness in Atemu's strategy.

"Have I made it too hard on you Mister?"

Seto growled and looked up from the playing field to see small pink lips turned up into a huge smug looking grin. "No, I have found a flaw in your gaming."

"Oh?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "But of course." Picking up his bishop, Seto began to move it across the spaces.

"Are you sure you want to do that Mr. 'I'm a master at chess'?"

He paused; "You have a smart mouth on you, kid. Did you know that?"

Small shoulders shrugged. "Make your move old man and we'll see who's smart."

"You're an ass." Seto placed his bishop in the square. "Check."

Atemu gasped, crimson eyes wide as he whispered; "You said a dirty word! I'm going to tell your mommy!"

The CEO chuckled, "My mother is dead kid and I think old enough to say whatever I want to."

"I'm sorry." Atemu replied, looking down at the board.

"For what?"

"For your mommy and for winning."

"Huh?" Seto looked down just in time to see Atemu take his white queen and move it till it was the square beside his king.

"Checkmate."

That was it. He was going to make the imp scream for mercy. Lunging forward, Seto grabbed the stunned Atemu, lifted him off his small yellow plastic chair and pulled him into his lap. "For taking out my king you must pay!"

Wide crimson eyes closed in a fit of giggles as his sides were assaulted. Small giggles turned into an all out screaming-laughter fit as Atemu tired desperately to get out of the adult's arms.

"Mister!…..Stop!"

Grinning like a fool, Seto shook his head. "Nope, not until you say the magic word."

"UNCLE!"

Giving the child mercy, Seto stopped his torture, letting Atemu catch his breath. "That will teach you to beat me."

Chubby cheeks flushed pick, Atemu glared the best he could at the tall man. "No fair! You're bigger than me. But I guess your body is big to make up for the lack of your brain size."

Seto growled. "Runt."

"Old Fart."

"I see you got your brain early, guess the warranty ran out huh?"

"Ooh! Why don't we play horse? I'll be the head and you play yourself!"

Seto blinked. "Are you implying I'm an ass?"

Atemu's small hand quickly covered Seto's mouth. "Shh… you'll get a spanking if they hear you say a dirty word!"

Chuckling, he removed Atemu's hand from his mouth but stopped when he saw the worried expression on the child's face. "Atemu, do they spank you?"

Biting his bottom lip, crimson eyes glanced over Seto's shoulder to look at the door, making sure none of the adults were listening. "Sometimes."

That one word sparked a streak of anger in Seto unlike he had ever felt before. He couldn't believe someone would lay a hand on this innocent child.

"Well you won't have to worry about that ever again."

"Why?"

"Because spanking is not allowed at my house."

Atemu's eyes went wide, "W-what?"

"I want you to come live with me, that is if you want to."

"You want to adopt…me?" Seto nodded his head. "Why? No one has ever wanted to keep me."

"Why would you say that?"

"I heard one of the ladies say that nobody wanted me 'cause I make the adults look dumb."

Again that spark of rage ran through his body, only to mingle with the pain of sorrow when he saw glistening wetness shining in those bright crimson eyes. So his body and heart responded to the new emotions causing him to kiss Atemu on the forehead and pull him close.

"Yes the adults are dumb but not cause you make them look or feel that way. They are dumb for not seeing what a wonderful child you are."

Nodding his head, Atemu cuddled closer to the older body. "What is your name?"

"Oh that's right I never did tell you that did I? My name is Seto Kaiba."

"And you want to be my daddy?" Seto smiled and nodded his head. "And I won't get a spanking for saying a dirty word?"

"No you won't."

"Ok then!" Atemu smiled "Lets go tell that bitch I have a new daddy!"

* * *

Dragon: Awww ain't Atemu just the cutest thing? I just want to squish him till his head pops off! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Midnight Madness  
Author: Crimson Eyed Dragon  
Rating: PG - 13  
Pairing: Seto X Yami  
Warnings: language (for now)  
Disclaimer: Yugioh does not belong to me  
Summary: Now that Mokuba is grown up and has left for college, Seto decides to adopt a child to train to take over Kaiba Corp and to fill the empty space in his home. Little does he know that the boy he adopted has a secret that will change Seto's life forever.

Dragon: WOW! 23 reviews for the first chapter. I think that is a record for me! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Damn you're rich daddy."

Seto smirked as he led the new addition to the Kaiba family further into the mansion. The kid sure had expanded his vocabulary since he was told that he wouldn't get in trouble for the 'dirty' words. But Seto only shrugged it off. So what if he said a few cuss words? It's not like they were hurting the kid. His knew son was as intelligent as he was and they certainly didn't hurt him when he said them.

"I guess you could say that."

"What do you do?"

"I am the owner and CEO of Kaiba Corp."

"The gaming and technology company?" Atemu's voice gave away his awe at hearing what Seto did. "Wow! Can you take me to see it some time?"

"Actually we are going tomorrow," Seto opened up one of the many doors lining the hallway to show Atemu it was one of the guest bathrooms. "After all, one day you are going to help me run it."

"Really? Cool!"

Seto finished showing Atemu the house ending up at the last bedroom next to his.

"And this," he said as he pushed open the door. "This is your room."

"This…is my room?" The crimson-eyed child walked past his new father, into what was now his, stepping further in till he was centered in the middle. Slowly he did a three-sixty taking in all that was around him.

The walls were a perfect white. Not a single smudge of fingerprints or less than artistic crayon drawing on them. The brightness was only enhanced by the huge bay window that allowed the sun's rays to reflect off their smoothness.

To his astonishment, there were a few shelves lined with rows of books; adult books he knew without even sparing them a second glance. The beige carpet was compressed under his worn out sneakers as he stopped spinning and walked over to the bed.

The hunter green comforter lay neatly on top of a bed that seemed to be the size of three of the beds back at the orphanage put together. With a silly grin on his face, he took a leap and began to clap his hands joyfully as he jumped up and down on the bed.

Seto couldn't help himself as he felt a smile tug as his lips while watching the small child act like…well a child. Back in the orphanage Atemu had reminded him of an adult locked in a five year olds body. The CEO couldn't put his finger on it but there was something _odd _about Atemu.

But one there was one thing he was sure of; Mokuba was going to be shocked shitless when he met his new nephew.

After all, he never once mentioned to his younger brother that he was going to adopt. It had been a spur of the moment thing. Two nights ago he had realized just how unusually silent the mansion had become with Mokuba now away at college. And it wasn't a peaceful kind of silence either but rather a suffocating, mind-numbing one.

But being as he was a Kaiba, he couldn't adopt just any child. The child had to have the mental capacity to deal with the training he would receive as future heir of Kaiba Corp, because Seto never saw him self with a wife or a steady relationship period and that's not even considering the fact that he preferred men over women. After all, who would want a money grubbing, spoiled, mood changing female?

So, he set out to find the perfect boy. He had hoped to find a Japanese kid, but instead he found what he was looking for in a defiant, smart ass Egyptian. Atemu had reminded him so much of himself it wasn't even funny.

Seto too had been overly intelligent at such a young age but where Atemu wasn't wanted because of it, he was sought out among all the other kids for his brain. But here was where it was going to end if Seto had anything to say about it.

When Gozaboro had adopted him and his brother, their life had been a living hell and he wasn't about to let that happen to Atemu. No, he was going to show him the kind of childhood he himself had only dreamed of.

So as he watched the boy jump carelessly up and down on his new bed, he made a decision to start now.

"Atemu."

"Huh?" Blinking at being interrupted, Atemu bounced one last time, landing in his knees, letting out a puff of air to blow his bangs out of his eyes.

"I know you didn't have a lot of personal possessions with you, so how about me and you go shopping then out to eat?"

"Shopping? For what?"

"Games, toys, anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Ooh… can I have a palm pilot!" Atemu quickly scrambled off the bed, looking hopeful as he ran over to Seto.

"What would you need one of those for?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Well, if I'm going to help you run Kaiba Corp., then I'm going to need to get organized!"

Chuckling, he ruffled Atemu's hair. "Sure kid, we'll get you one."

"Yay!" Grabbing Seto's hand, he began to pull his daddy down the hall.

"Slow down!"

Atemu stopped and looked back with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Man you really are an old fart aren't you?"

Growling, Seto quickly grabbed the laughing child and hoisted him up on his shoulder. "Whatever you say runt."

* * *

Seto could do nothing as he stared at the brightest, biggest, stuffed orange goldfish he had ever seen. Big round plastic eyes gazed back at him knowingly and Seto swore the damn thing was smirking at him.

"You want this?" he asked cautiously. Why on earth _his _son wanted a stuffed fish was beyond him. Wasn't this the same kid who had just suckered him into getting not only a palm pilot but also a cell phone and the most top-of-the-line laptop?

"Yep!" Atemu smiled, hugging the goldfish close to him, almost invisible from the sheer size of it. "And I'm going to name it Crackers!"

"C-crackers?"

He nodded his head. "Uh huh! I read it in a story…. There was this guy and he was having trouble with his love life so he told all his problems to his magical pet goldfish named Crackers and it solved all his problems!" (1)

"And what was the name of the person who wrote this?"

"I can't remember it exactly but I do recall that she couldn't spell her name right. The letters were out of order." (2)

Seto just gave Atemu a look. "Maybe I need to start screening your books before you read them," he said dryly.

Little lips pouted; "That's not fair!"

"Yeah, well life's never fair."

"You act like you know from experience."

"I do."

Atemu studied Seto carefully, not liking the tone of voice his father was using. Looking back down at the stuffed animal, he grinned then took off towards the area designated for all furry creatures.

Seto watched curiously as Atemu grinned rather smugly before taking off back in the direction of where he got the stuffed goldfish. Just what the hell was he up too? A fleeting thought of 'this is your son and you should be watching over him' raced through his mind and he quickly walked after him.

Rounding the edge of the aisle, Seto had to stop and look at the sight before him. In the middle space between two towering shelves was a pile of various plushies piled about three feet high and smack dab in the middle was a smirking crimson eyed child holding onto the giant goldfish in one hand and 'whooping' triumphantly at something.

Spying his father looking at him with narrowed eyes, Atemu quickly turned his smirk into a grin and held out a gray stuffed animal. "Daddy! I found it!"

"Found what?"

"A friend for you! Look! Come see!"

Walking forward, Seto eyed the gray thing that was being held towards him warily. It wasn't quiet as large as the bright orange fish but it was close. Two big gray ears sat atop a gray horse-like body with a tail that ended in a tuff of long back 'fur'.

"A donkey?"

Atemu nodded his head still smiling brightly. "Yep! He can be your friend so you have someone to help you like Crackers did for that man and like he will do for me!"

"But why a donkey?"

"Cause you're an ass."

Seto blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You know, 'lets play horse, I'll be the head…'"

"….and you play yourself." He growled out, narrowing his eyes at his son.

"Exactly!" he said shaking the stuffed donkey. "Wow, I'm impressed old man….your memory is still intact!"

Growling again, Seto grabbed up the chubby wide-eyed child from the middle of the plushies and held him out arm's length away looking at Atemu sternly. "That mouth of yours is going to get in you in trouble if you don't watch it."

Seto immediately regretted those words when a little bottom lip began to quiver slightly and crimson eyes got even wider only to shimmer with unshed tears.

"B-but…I only wanted t-to get you a f-friend so your life would be fair." Atemu whispered. "You p-promised you wouldn't s-spank me! I'm sorry!"

"Shh" Seto set Atemu back down on the hard white tiled floor and kneeled before him. Using his thumb, he wiped away the now free falling tears. "No I'm not going to spank you. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

"Are you mad at me? Are you going to take me back?"

Seto sighed but gave his son a smile. "No I'm not mad at you. I was only teasing you earlier. And there is nothing that you could do to make me want to take you back there. Just think, in six months we'll go to court and you will become a Kaiba."

"Really?" Atemu's voice was hopeful as he clutched both the goldfish and donkey to him.

"Really."

Grinning, Atemu dropped both the stuffed animals and flung his arms around his father's neck, getting a hug in return from the adult.

"Now," Seto reached over and picked up the stuffed donkey. "What are we going to name my new friend here?"

"Esel."

Seto started to nod his head to confirm the name when he spotted that devious smirk on Atemu's face. "What does Esel mean?"

"Oh, its African for ass."

* * *

Broad hands grasped the edges of the dark green comforter and pulled it up to cover a tired, small body covered in dark blue pajamas littered with white puppies. Tiny hands clutched tightly to Crackers as Atemu yawned.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" Seto sat down on the edge of the bed, smiling as Atemu tried desperately to fight off the impending sleepiness.

"Will you read me a story?"

"Anything particular?"

Crimson eyes looked over the shelves and scanned the rows of hard backed books. "The purple one."

Getting up, Seto walked over to the first shelf, gently pulled the dark purple novel away from the other books and glanced at the gold tinted words on the spine. He quirked an eyebrow, "_Demon Love by Canna Rekaal_?" (3)

Small shoulders shrugged as another yawn escaped him.

Setting back against the headboard, Seto was slightly surprised when he felt warmth on his chest. Glancing down, his eyes were greeted with a mass of spiked crimson-tipped black hair. He had just been promoted to a pillow. Running his hand through the soft locks, he remembered when he used to do this very thing with Mokuba, but those days were long gone.

"You ready?"

Atemu nodded his head as Seto flipped the book open and began to read.

_Kero's piercing blue eyes searched around the inside of the abandoned windmill. His bow and arrow was cocked ready in firing position as he stalked through the dark building looking for the small black cat he had followed inside._

_Kero knew the cat was a demon. No normal cat had red eyes nor could have been responsible for killing livestock in the nearby village. Like all demons, the cat deserved to die._

Atemu gasped, "He's going to kill the kitty? Why?"

"I don't know, it doesn't say why. Maybe it will later."

_As Kero continued to hunt throughout the discarded windmill he was unaware he was being watched by unseen crimson eyes. The small cat was crouched down, hiding under a shelf, hoping the demon hunter would leave soon._

"I hope he escapes too. That Kero is a bastard, the kitty did nothing to him."

"Atemu," Seto sighed and continued to read.

_Ket held his breath as the black boots of the demon hunter pasted by him. The hunter was good; Ket gave him credit for that. As the hunter moved along, Ket stuck his head out a little to marvel in the hunter's handsomeness. For a long time Ket had been searching for the person he had a vision of at the Pool of Destiny and when he had finally found him, Ket was horrified to discover that his secret love was a demon hunter._

"See! The kitty thinks he's cute and all Kero wants to do is shoot his ass with an arrow! Ungrateful bast…"

"Would you like for me to find something else to read?"

"Huh?" Atemu turned his head to look at Seto. "Oh, no keep going. I want to see what happens."

_Ket's cat nose twitched upon catching a familiar scent, one different from the demon hunter. Glancing around the building, Ket found the white-haired demon, leaning up again the wall in a corner. With his cat eyes, Ket could easily see the fire demon smirk in the dark. Moving his arms, Carin pressed a palm on the wall next to him. Before Ket knew what was happening, the wall was lit on fire._

"Oh shit here comes the bad guy! Kitty better get his furry butt out of there."

"What about the hunter?"

"Ah, he should let him burn. Serves him right."

_Smelling the smoke, Kero spun around only to find a wall a fire springing up from the ground and surround the fire demon, allowing Carin to make his escape through his fire traveling ability._

"_Shit," Kero grumbled. The demon hunter was about to abandon his quest for the cat demon when he caught a quick black movement of the cat he was hunting run from its hiding place as it also tried escaping the windmill before the fire burned it to the ground._

"Ooh, Kero said a bad word!"

"So?"

"So?"

"You say plenty of them."

"Well you said I could, but no one told him he could. He should get a spanking, maybe kitty could give him one?"

Seto choked on the mental image of the little black cat spanking a human. He shook his head, some things weren't meant for a mind to dwell on.

_The fire was rapidly growing quicker, but Kero had never lost a demon he was hunting and he wasn't about to start now. Ignoring the blaze, Kero fired an arrow in the cat's direction, swearing again when he missed. His swears soon turned to coughs however as the smoke intensified. _

_Turning around, Kero wisely decided to leave the cat for now and escape from the windmill while he still could. However when the cat distracted him, Kero had failed to notice that the fire and smoke were both spreading throughout the building fast._

_The smoke burned at Kero's eyes and he continued to cough. Kero struggled to stay upright as he tried stumbling towards the exit. But he soon was unable to stop himself from falling to the ground._

Atemu gasped again, crimson eyes wide with worry. "Is he going to really die? I didn't want him to really die!"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Want me to keep reading to find out?"

Nodding his head, Atemu settled back against his father's chest with a yawn.

_Seeing the hunter fall, Ket hurried to his side and began nudging at his neck with his nose. When that got no response, Ket quickly transformed into his human form. "Wake up!" he begged as he shook Kero's body in between coughs of his own. The hunter still however did move._

_Grabbing Kero's arms, Ket attempted to drag Kero out of the burning building but quickly discovered that because of their size difference the hunter was too heavy for him to drag. Reluctantly, Ket transformed into his leopard form. Taking Kero's white cape into his mouth, Ket began dragging the hunter through the blaze. Soon they were out on the grassy lawn in front of the burning windmill._

_Kero gave a small groan upon them reaching the fresh air and Ket knew that he would be okay. Transforming back into a cat, Ket curled up next to Kero's head, cuddling close to the hunter waiting for further help to arrive._

Seto stopped reading when he realized that Atemu hadn't interrupted him like he had been and smiled when he heard soft, even breathing. Closing the book, he laid it on the nightstand and carefully moved Atemu off of him. Chubby little arms tightened around Crackers as he was settled in the bed.

Standing up, sapphire eyes gazed over the small figure snuggled up under the sheets. He couldn't believe that in less than a day this child had wormed his way into his heart so easily. Reaching over he pulled the cord to the lamp sending the room into darkness and with one final look at his new son, Seto walked out of the room with a smile on his face.

* * *

1. Crackers and the story mentioned are not mine. My GSB, Pysche, gave me permission to use it. It's a wonderful Seto/Yami story and if you haven't read it yet then I suggest you should. It's called _Working for the Enemy._

2. LOL love you Pysche! But even you tease your self about how you spelled your name! And you know me, I couldn't resist!

3. Again this story is not mine. Another GSB, Rekall, gave me permission to use her new and upcoming story. Kero is Seto, Ket is Yami, and Carin is Bakura. It's part of the second story in her trilogy. The first part is entitled _Chale Jao._  
It's another must read!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Seto groaned as the early morning sun slapped him in the face, bringing him out of his peaceful slumber. Sapphire eyes blinked against the harshness of the bright light. With an exasperated sigh, he reached for the thick coverlet to pull it off of him only to notice that it wasn't where it was suppose to be. Curious, he pushed himself up on his arms and looked around and was slightly baffled when he saw all his covers were piled beside the _door._

What the hell?

Getting up from the bed, clad in nothing but his black silk boxers, Seto stretched a bit before walking over to the pile of black covers, eyeing them warily. Just how the hell did that happen? The bed was a good twenty feet from the door, so it wasn't as if he could have kicked them off, only for them to land over here.

He supposed he could have been sleepwalking and had moved it over to this location. But he had never been known to sleepwalk before, so why start now?

What was different?

He could have physically slapped himself. Of course something was different! He had a son, he was a father! Atemu could have easily come into his room last night and pulled the covers off of him. But why he would do that was beyond him.

Speaking of the little imp…

Slipping on a pair of gray sweatpants, Seto walked out of his room and stood in the doorway gazing at the small sleeping figure curled up under the hunter green covers. Leaning against the doorframe, he smiled softly at the mass of tri-colored hair peeking out for the thick covers, one thumb twisted in his pajama shirt while unconsciously rubbing it against his lips.

Ok, so after seeing that cute scene Seto realized that he couldn't be mad at the little devil for coming into his room. He shook his head; Atemu was even getting away with things in his sleep. Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge carefully as not to spook the child.

He brushed blonde bangs away from chubby tanned cheeks. He marveled at how peaceful and innocent Atemu looked with his small thumb still softly caressing his lips, giving him comfort in his sleep. Sapphire eyes look behind his son to see an orange tail also peeking out of the sheets. Reaching over, he grabbed the tail and looked into the big plastic eye staring back at him.

"Well Crackers, it looks like we are going to have to wake him up. Would you like the honors?"

Seto mentally smacked himself when he realized he had been actually waiting on an answer from the stuffed goldfish. Rolling his eyes at his own idiotic self, Seto maneuvered the fish till it was in Atemu's face and proceeded to make it 'kiss' his son.

Dazed crimson eyes blinked open a few times to finally focus on the biggest eye he had ever seen looking back at him.

"AHHHH! Son of a bitch!" he screamed as he scrambled off the bed, tangling himself in the sheets in the process causing him to fall rear first on the floor. Heart beating wildly, Atemu untangled himself and peeked his head over the top of the mattress to see his oh so wonderful father laughing his ass off at him.

Crossing his arms over his tiny pajama covered chest, Atemu huffed, narrowed his eyes and glared. "Asshole. That was not funny."

"And it was funny to come into my room last night and take my covers off my bed?"

"Huh?" the crimson-eyed child tilted his head to the side then yawned.

"I woke up this morning and found all my covers by the door."

"Well I didn't do it." Atemu pulled himself up off the floor and back on to the bed. "Hey! Give me back Crackers! You have your own friend to play with!"

Handing back the stuffed animal to Atemu, Seto frowned. If his son didn't do it and he didn't do it then who was in his room last night? It unnerved him to think somebody had possible been in his house without him or his security knowing about it. Guess it was time to have another little chat with his Chief of Security.

"So what are we going to do today Daddy?"

"Kaiba Corp."

"WOOHOO!" Eyes full of excitement lit up as Atemu started jumping up and down on the bed.

**

* * *

**

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pwease?"

"No."

"P_weease?"_

"No." Seto glared at those big round crimson eyes that were boring into his soul like there was no tomorrow. He gritted his teeth against the onslaught of those menacing 'puppy eyes' and that begging, hopeful voice. He was not going to lose this fight.

"But Daddy!"

"Don't _but _Daddy me."

"_But_ Daddy," he began, letting his bottom lip start to quiver. "Esel will be lonely if you don't take him to Kaiba Corp with you! He can sit on your desk and keep you company when me and Crackers can't be there!"

"That donkey is not coming to work with me." Seto pointed to the gray stuffed animal sitting in Atemu's lap. If he had known this was his son's reasoning for taking Esel with them, he would have demanded Atemu to leave it in his room. Now he was wondering if he could snatch the stuffed creature from Atemu and throw it out the window of his limo.

"Please Daddy? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"No Atemu."

"Pretty please with me on top?"

Seto blinked then blinked again. Surely his five-year-old _son_ had not just said what he thought he said.

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'pretty please with sugar on top.'"

"No, that's not what you said."

Innocent crimson eyes blinked. "Yes it is. I know what I said." Then his chubby face took on a look of concern as he gripped Esel tighter. "How old are you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to make sure you're not too old to take care of me. You could be getting Alzheimer's or dementia! I mean you are an old fart and I'm only five, I don't want to have to change your diapers when I just got out of them myself."

Seto just rolled his eyes. "I'm not that old. I'm only twenty-five."

Atemu's cute little upturned nose scrunched up. "Well that's good but your still taking Esel with you."

Narrowing his eyes, he growled. "Just shut up and give me that damn thing." Anything to shut the kid up.

With a huge happy grin, Atemu handed the damnable stuffed thing over to his less than pleased father.

* * *

Seto sighed as he watched Atemu run over to the floor-to-ceiling length windows to gaze out at the view of Domino City. It was a miracle in itself that he didn't have to fire anyone on his way up to his office. Yes he had received plenty of stares, curious glances, and he knew there were newly formed rumors starting right this very moment, but for once in his life he couldn't bring himself to say anything to his employees in front of son.

Ok, so he admitted it was strange for him, Seto Kaiba CEO and owner of the multibillion corporation to be walking through his building carrying a wide-eyed, over ecstatic child of Egyptian heritage on his back with a gray stuffed jackass in his left hand as he pointed out the various halls, rooms, and machinery to him. After all he was a cold-hearted bastard with no feelings, no heart, no soul……so much for that image.

Sitting himself in his chair behind his grand oak desk, Seto glared at the abomination in his hand and swore that the donkey was smirking back at him, as if it knew that he had lost a battle with a child over him. Sapphire eyes looked from it to Atemu, softening slightly at the sheer joy on the young one's face as he pressed his face up against the glass, fingers splayed beside his chubby cheeks, trying to get a better view.

Well he didn't have a picture of the child yet but there was going to be a nice face and palm portrait on his windows now for the entire world to see.

Abruptly, Atemu pulled away from the window and looked at Seto with a strange look on his face – somewhere between pained and embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

"Umm…I have to go stinky-stinky."

Seto blinked. "Did you just say stinky-stinky?"

"Yes." Atemu grounded out, looking rather irritated.

"_Stinky-stinky?"_ Again he repeated the strange word, not quite sure what to make of it.

"I'm sorry, is that too complicated for you to understand? Should I have said poop, bowel movement, shit, No. 2?"

Seto's furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why didn't you just say so? Why use such a childish word? I thought you were intelligent."

A low growl was heard from the child as crimson eyes narrowed. "Well then you explain that to the orphanage, for some reason stinky-stinky was the word of choice for when one has to do one's business. So are you going to show me the bathroom or do you have a nasty fetish for wiping asses?" A small dark eyebrow quirked in amusement to the disgusted look on his father's face.

"You're sick."

"Thank you, but your about to be just as sick as me if you don't tell me with the toilet is cause I'm sure it wouldn't be pretty if I have to go right here."

Banishing away disturbing thoughts of a pile of human _stinky-stinky_ in his office, Seto replied; "Out the door, first door on your right."

Watching as Atemu did some type of track record out the door, Seto raised his hand and harshly rubbed his face and mumbled, "That kid is going to be the death of me."

* * *

Atemu stood up on his tiptoes, biting his tongue in concentration as he reached for the knob on the sink to turn the water on. He grunted as he struggled to turn it on. Furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. Quickly he finished washing his hands, dried them off and turned his attention back to the oversized mirror.

Something wasn't right. His five-year-old mind tried to wrap itself around the problem, tried to logically figure out it out but he just couldn't grasp what was making him feel this way.

Sighing, he shrugged his small shoulders. He would just have to think about it later, right now he wanted to get back to his father and find out what kind of things he could get into.

Peeking his head out the door, he quickly looked from left to right before he slipped out into the hall heading for Seto's office. Smiling sweetly at the secretary, he ran up to the big wooden doors and started to push them open when he heard strange voices on the other side.

Grinning to himself, Atemu forcefully pushed the doors open and without a second thought he ran inside heading straight for his father who was sitting at his desk. Overall covered legs quickly scrambled up into his fathers lap, placing both hands on either side of Seto's cheeks and planted a big wet sloppy childish kiss on his lips.

"Hi Daddy! Miss me?"

Seto just sat there, shocked, unable to do anything. That was the last thing he had expected for Atemu to do. He was about to respond when he suddenly felt Atemu being lifted from his lap. Looking up he saw one of his Board of Directors had grabbed him by the back of his overall shoulder straps and was currently holding the child away from him like he was something infested with germs.

"Put me down asshole!" Atemu glared at the taller stranger, crossing his arms over his tiny chest.

The older man sneered at the kid and turned his attention back to his boss. "I'll get rid of this _thing_ right away Kaiba-sama."

"Put. Him. Down." It took everything Seto had not to knock the shit out of the man currently holding his son. "Release my son before I personally get rid of _you._"

"You heard my Daddy!" Atemu swung his leg out and kicked the man right in his thigh, causing the older man to drop him. "Bastard!" he hissed while standing backup.

Seto quickly walked to his son's side and knelt down, needing to check to make sure he hadn't been injured. Luckily, the only thing that seemed to be wounded was his pride.

"Kaiba-sama," the white haired man began, "I was not aware you had a child."

"Well as of yesterday I do now." Seto stood up turning his icy gaze onto one of the members of his Board of Directors.

"Couldn't you have gotten a Japanese boy? Did you not think about what you were doing? It will not be good for business for Kaiba Corp to be turned over to an immigrant."

"Well," Atemu smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I WOULD explain it to you but I don't think Daddy keeps any crayons around." He turned towards his father with a mock innocent look on his face. "Or do you Daddy?"

Seto felt the corners of his mouth turn up and fought against it as he looked from his son to the enraged man before him. "Sorry Atemu but I seemed to left them at home."

"Damn. Sorry Mister, but it looks like I'm going to have to explain it in the simplest terms possible and hope your tiny brain doesn't explode under the pressure. Me smart, you dumb. Got that?"

"Insolent little brat!" The man fumed and stepped forward and raised his right hand ready to strike the child before him, but was suddenly stunned when he felt his arm being twisted behind his back.

"You just made a terrible mistake," Seto hissed, madder than hell. "Not only is that MY son you were going to strike but also they future heir of Kaiba Corp, your would be boss IF you were going to still be around."

Atemu giggled at the man's reaction. "You got fired dumbass! But I enjoyed talking to you, my mind needed the rest!" And he finished it off by forming an L with his index finger and thumb, placed it on his forehead and stuck out his tongue.

It wasn't long before security came and carted the man off with strict instructions to not allow the man to clean out his desk that it would all be shipped to him when Seto felt like sending it.

* * *

Sapphire eyes glanced over to the bedside clock reading the time of 11:48 pm, sighing as he looked back down at the sleeping child that was cuddled up to him. After this afternoon's events, Seto had a hard time letting the child out of his sight. The image of that hand about it strike Atemu still haunted him and enraged him at the same time.

They had left not long after, heading straight home, Atemu barely able to stay awake in the back of the limo. It had amazed him that Atemu seemed neither upset nor scared at the fact that an adult was going to harm him, but then again the little Egyptian wasn't like most kids.

Once at home, Seto had given Atemu a bath and dressed him in (at his request) in one of Seto's old T-shirts. He smiled as he thought about that. The white shirt had all but drowned the five year old, but he had to admit Atemu looked adorable in it.

It was amazing how this little child had wormed his way into his heart in just two days. But Atemu was an exceptional child, full of spunk, brains, and wit, with eyes that seemed to be the key to your very soul.

He shook his head, adjusted Crackers so the fish's tail wouldn't be poking him in the most personal places, and kissed Atemu on the head and closed his eyes.

Just when it felt as if he was about to fall sleep, he felt something heavy shift on top of him, causing his eyes to open up, only to blink at the amused crimson eyes looked down at him, followed by a deep, rich, honey-filled voice.

"Guess I won't be pulling your covers off tonight now will I, _Big Daddy?"_

* * *

_Dragon: Ooh now we get to the good stuff! Sorry for the long wait but my hard drive failed and I've just now gotten back on track. Hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews!_


	4. Chapter 4

**WARNING –** Do NOT attempt to eat food or drink while reading this story. I do not want to be sued for messed up computers, pudding covered dogs, or ruined lunches.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Who the hell are you?"

Seto could only stare at the young man currently lying on top of his chest, looking back at him with a smirk on his face. How the hell he knew he was smirking at him in the dark was beyond him.

"Oh you should know the answer to that _Daddy._ But incase you forgot in your old age, I'm Atemu or you can call me Yami as my friend Bakura does."

Seto blinked. "Atemu?"

"Yes."

"But you're so big! I must be dreaming."

"Nope, sorry, you are wide awake and I am very real. But to answer question as to why I'm so big," he paused to chuckle. "Let me give you the short version. Lets just say it involved Kura, a fair, a gypsy, curse which causes me to be a child at dawn and at midnight I turn back to me, the regular me, the eighteen year old me, the real me."

"Huh?"

"Oh that's intelligent. What happened to the brilliant CEO that adopted me? What are you cursed too? At midnight you become stupid?"

Seto growled and went to place his hands on the man's hips to flip him over only to notice that most of his hands met with only bare skin of obviously toned hips. Embarrassed and shocked, he withdrew his hands only to an amused chuckle from the one on top of him.

"Oh, so you want to be on top? I can deal with that."

In one quick flawless movement, Seto found himself laying on top of the other, slim but toned legs wrapped around his waist and again he just knew Atemu -Yami (whoever the hell he is) was smirking at him.

"You know," the one below him purred, "how about you turn on a light? Then you can see for yourself that I really am who I say I am."

Narrowing his eyes, Seto shifted some to reach the lamp on the bedside table when he heard a moan from the one below him.

"Damn Big Daddy, I bet you can live up to your nickname when you're in the mood huh?"

Choosing to ignore that comment since he was oddly flattered and turned on by it, he finally turned on the lamp. Blinking away the harshness of the light, he looked down at the – he gulped – gorgeous person under him. It was true; Yami (as he decided to call him to keep the two separate in his mind) could easily be Atemu's older brother.

One sexy older brother.

Eww, wasn't this his son?

"Ok so you look like him. But that doesn't mean a damn thing. There are no such things as curses."

Yami snorted. "Yeah well trust me, they are. And unfortunately, I am living proof that they exist."

"What exactly was the curse?"

Furrowing his eyebrows in thought, Yami recited the gypsy's words; "Through the love of a child you will find your heart."

"That's stupid."

"I thought so too until I woke up in an orphanage with the weirdest memories of being a child and that was a year ago."

"So….you've been like this for a year?"

"Yep."

"And no one has figured it out yet?"

"Nope."

"Wait…did you say you remembered being a child?"

Yami nodded his head and grinned. "Atemu never remembers Yami, but I always remember him and what he's done for the day. Speaking of that; that was really sweet when you gave in and kept Esel on your desk and thanks for rescuing me from that son of a bitch earlier."

"So it's true? You really are Atemu."

"Yes, and it seems, if my memory serves me right, that some of the adult me is leaking through to the child me. Does the phrase 'me on top' ring a bell?"

Seto gulped and watched as a sexy smirk formed on Yami's lips. Damn if this wasn't his son…. "Yeah I seem to remember something like that. So you're saying that some of your personality is coming through into Atemu? Is that how he is so smart at his age?"

"I'm not quite sure how that works to tell you the truth. While Atemu has a child's body, he has my brains and personality. But this is the first time he – I – have ever said anything like that to someone before. I'm not sure why it happened."

"Well whatever the reason is we have a problem. I can not legally adopt someone that is really eighteen years of age."

"Aww… you're not into the whole incest thing?"

"You're disgusting."

"And you flatter me. But don't worry. We've six months before the process is legal, that gives us that many months to break this curse or for you to find you another little heir to your empire."

"We?"

"Yes, we. It's not like I can do things on my own when I'm only five half the time." Yami paused then grinned rather evilly. "Now, unless you'd like to get to know each other on a more _personal_ level, I suggest you get off of me and let me go back to my room."

Nodding his head, rather too shocked to do anything else, Seto rolled off of Yami and watch with wide eyes when the now teen Egyptian got out of the bed. The formally over large t-shirt was now barely covering up the young man's ass….

Was he naked under there?

"Oh and by the way," Yami called over his shoulder as he carelessly threw something back on the bed. "Don't ever buy Atemu underwear with goldfish on them ever again. Besides, when I change, they tend to rip and fall off."

Seto blinked as he looked from the retreating Yami to the torn child's tighty-whities lying beside him.

Guess that answered that question.

* * *

"I can't believe this. I have a nephew." 

Seto smiled slightly as he looked from his college-aged brother to the now young Atemu, who was currently sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of alphabet soup for supper.

Not once all day had he been able to look at the young kid without seeing an older Yami wearing nothing but his t-shirt. It irked him to no end that things suddenly went complicated and confusing. And today his younger brother decided to pay him a visit.

He couldn't talk to Atemu about this cause the child didn't have a clue as to what was going on and speaking to Mokuba about it was out of the question too.

Seto looked down at his cup of coffee and frowned. After last night's weird encounter, he had gotten very little sleep – as attest to the ten cups of caffeine he had drunk already since this morning.

Every time he tried to close his eyes all he saw was that sexy smirk, felt that slim toned body beneath him, and could still smell the watermelon shampoo on Yami that Atemu had used. He groaned right before he took another sip. He was doing it again. Why couldn't he stop thinking about Yami for one minute?

"Yeah and now I have an uncle. So you're in college? What are you studying?"

"Architectural engineering with a specialized degree in Earthquake Engineering."

"Oh?" Atemu took a bite of his soup. "And what for?"

"I want to help design a new building for Kaiba Corp that will be earthquake proof. I want to make sure that if the same thing that happened in Tokyo happened in Domino it won't destroy our company."

"Yeah I read about the quake in 2004, it destroyed over 1,400 buildings if I remember correctly." Crimson eyes looked thoughtfully into his bowl.

Both Seto and Mokuba raised an eyebrow at him curiously as the child dipped his fingers into the soup, pulling out something and arranged it on the table.

"That's right."

"So would the KC building grounds be prone to liquefy during an earthquake? Have you had the soil tested? Is it loose, saturated and granular?"

Mokuba blinked at the child, forgetting all about Atemu pulling out various noodles from his bowl and placing it on the wooden surface.

"You know…" the child continued next, not looking at either adult. "In the states the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation just had a five million upgrade. They can now make hybrid models of both physical and numerical components. It's fascinating really. They can test things physically and can test them with computers also. They have several testing sites, you should see if you can go there."

Mokuba gaped and turned his head towards his brother. "Damn Seto, I'm amazed."

The CEO couldn't help the smug smirk that formed on his face. "Told you."

"Yeah I know but… wow. I mean no five year old should know about that. You sure got lucky when you met him."

"Look Daddy!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Seto leaned forward to see what his son was pointing at and what he saw made him drop his cup, blanching, not even hearing the shattering sound as he read….

'FUCK ME BIG DADDY' written in alphabet noodles.

Confused at his older brother's reaction and the rather proud grin on Atemu's face, he leaned over and looked at it.

"Or maybe you should take him back and ask for a refund. He's obviously broken."

Atemu frowned at Mokuba's words and the panicked, stunned face of his father. He looked back at his creation trying to figure out what he had done wrong.

"Umm.. well you see… he…" Seto gulped still not looking from those damn words to look at his brother. "He's on this medication and it makes him act funny." Seto made a nervous laugh. "Just the other day he said 'pretty please with me on top' I should really call the doctor on that and get it changed."

"What did the pediatrician have him on Viagra?"

"Medication? Viagra?" Atemu tilted his head. "The geezer get-it-up pill? I don't take anything and I'm too young to have sex." He looked over at his uncle and narrowed his eyes. "And I am not broken."

"Whatever you say kid. But that's not normal. No child says they want to fuck their daddy."

"Fuck?"

Seto groaned, holding his stomach like he was going to be sick.

"What does this 'fuck' mean?"

Mokuba snickered and leaned across the table to give his brother a pat on the back. "Ask your _Big Daddy_ to explain the finer points of the word."

* * *

After Seto somehow got his overly amused brother out of his house several hours later, the emotionally worn out CEO looked back at Atemu who was sitting with a 'care to explain now' look on his face. With a sigh, Seto told his son to follow him to his home office where he sat down behind his desk looking pointedly at the other chair, silently telling Atemu to take a seat. 

Crawling up into the big leather chair, Atemu crossed his legs and faced his father. "Going to explain what the big deal is about this word fuc…."

"No! Don't repeat that word ever again."

Atemu just rolled his eyes as Seto opened up his laptop, turned it on and began typing out something on the keyboard. With in minutes, Seto spun the computer around and addressed his son.

"Now about that _word_. I believe if you read here you will find everything you need to know about _it._"

Curious, the child got up from the chair and peeked over the edge of the desk to look at the screen. "Sex education at Rip and Roll?" He blinked at the adult before him, "Shouldn't you explain the meaning of _that_ word before you have me buy condoms? Although I admit," he clicked on something, "That glow in the dark one looks fun, not sure if they have it in my size though. These look so big…"

Feeling sick for the millionth time today, Seto grabbed the laptop from that smirking chubby face. "I didn't look at what link I clicked on."

"Sounds like a good excuse as any. Care to try again?"

Scowling, Seto typed a bit more before spinning the computer around again. "I think this is what I was looking for."

Atemu rolled his eyes again at the site his father had clicked on. "Oh please, a CNN article on teenage sex? How about no? Since I know all about this," He began typing out something on the keyboard and scrolled down the list of links. "I believe," he spun the screen back around, "this is what you are trying to tell me the meaning of the word is?"

Seto stared wide-eyed at the gay porn site called _Taste the Rainbow_ that stared back at him. The images flashing where even vulgar enough to make him blush.

Quickly, he snapped the top down and stood up. Seriously, the kid was beginning to be a bit too much even for him. "Its time to go to bed," he said as he looked at the clock, noting the time was close to midnight.

"Huh? But what about a bath?"

A quick look of horror, "Oh no, no bath tonight or ever again!"

"But why? Don't I need to get cleaned up after I stuck my hand in my soup?"

"Not my fault you decided to do that."

"But still I need a bath."

"Then you do it yourself." With that, Seto began to walk out of his office.

"But I'm five!" Atemu hurried after his father and followed him down the hall.

"So? You're a bright boy. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Oh, so you would leave your child alone in a bath tub to either A. get burned by boiling hot water or B. drown? Did you know that you can drown in less than five inches of water? What in the world would child services think if Japan's most prominent business man killed his child cause he left him alone in the bathtub?"

Seto stopped and narrowed his eyes at the child. "You won't drown."

"Oh so now you're a psychic? I'm impressed then." He rolled his crimson eyes. "Why are you afraid to give me a bath? Scaredy cat."

"Midget."

"Chicken shit."

"Runt."

"Candy ass."

"Geek."

"Pussy."

"I am not afraid," he crossed his arms. "Nor am I a woman."

"No you're a pillow biter." Atemu grinned "Well then give me a bath if your not afraid."

"Fine." Seto mentally cursed himself when he saw the satisfied grin on Atemu's face, forgetting all about the time now…. And what the hell is a pillow biter?

* * *

Seto wrinkled his nose as tiny hands reached up and planted a nice heaping handful of foamy bubbles on top of the brunet's head. He scowled as bright crimson eyes looked at him in amusement, giggling behind his hand. 

"You find this funny don't you?"

"Yes," Atemu giggled some more.

"Get it off of me."

"No," another giggle.

"Yes, now."

"No. You look like a unicorn!" a few more giggles and a splash of water.

Seto growled, closed his eyes and reached up to wipe the offending bubbles off his head….

"Damn I hate giggling."

Seto stopped his hand in mid swipe, opened his eyes, gasped, and scooted back away from the tub as quickly as possible. How could he have forgotten about the time? Childish giggles had changed into the snickers of an amused adult.

"What's wrong?" Yami titled his head to the side, smirking smugly at the wide-eyed, speechless man before him. Crimson eyes looked down at the bath water and fished his hands around for what he wanted. Pulling the washrag out of the bubbles, he held it up before him. "Don't you have to finish washing me? I'm trying my best to be good."

Seto gaped at him a minute before he got his tongue back. "NO!"

"Aww, why not? I'm sure we'd both enjoy it." Yami seemed to purr out the last sentence causing a shiver to run down the CEO's spine.

"You're old enough now not to need me to help you."

"Hmm… true. Fine then you just stay there and I'll wash myself."

Seto gulped as a bronzed hand took the light blue washrag and began to use gentle motions to wash that shapely neck, firm chest, down his arms. He could feel the heat of the steamy water start to get to him… at least he thought that what was affecting him. Sapphire eyes couldn't help but follow every single movement of that rag, gulping again as crimson eyes closed and a small moan escaped the smaller man's lips as the began to wash certain areas that were thankfully (or unthankfully) covered by bubbles.

It was too much, too erotic to watch the scene before him. He needed to get out and do it now. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and dashed out the door but not before he heard a deep chuckle come from the bathtub.

* * *

Dragon: So no more confusion right? 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Seto glared hard at the bed, mentally counting down the seconds till it would hit midnight. Sitting down in a chair several feet away from the sleeping child, he felt his muscles tense as the countdown continued. For a week now he has been avoiding Yami, barely staying around when Atemu was out and carefully avoided anything that might set the child off.

To date, the internet, all forms of character foods, magazines, and anything else that could cause some embarrassing moments for him - since Atemu still had no idea what he was doing - had been either thrown out, burned or locked up. Needless to say, the house was pretty empty by now.

Never before had Seto felt so confused, embarrassed, or even guilty this much. In his quest to avoid both Yami and Atemu, he had hired a nanny to stay with the child while he pretty much camped out at Kaiba Corp. just to insure that he wouldn't be caught in similar situations as he had been a week ago. And the few times he did come home well after midnight, he would find Yami standing inside the child's bedroom door, looking at him with an unreadable expression, only to close it once he caught sight of Seto walking down the hallway.

So not only was he feeling guilty over neglecting Atemu but also it seemed he was feeling the same way over Yami and that was what confused him. Why the hell was he caring what the older one thought or felt?

Sighing, Seto placed his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in the palms of his hands. Maybe he should just take the kid back to orphanage and let someone else deal with this. It would be so much easier if he didn't have to put up with the small version and the sexier one at night. But….. He looked over to Atemu, who was lying on his side, Crackers wrapped securely and lovingly in his arms, he didn't think he had the heart to do that. Even if this wasn't really a child he still couldn't be that cruel.

Could he?

"Finally stopped avoiding us huh?"

Blinking, Seto sat up and looked into the narrowed eyes of Yami, who was lying on his side, head propped up by his hand. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the change that had taken place. Casually, he let his eyes roam over the now adult body, thankful that he had one of Seto's old t-shirts on and that the rest of him was covered up by sheets.

"I came to tell you that I have decided to help you look for a way to break this curse."

This time it was Yami's turn to blink, dumbfounded at the other. "You want to help me? Why?"

Seto shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the fact that he was about to admit he was feeling guilty over something. "Because, I realize that I have been avoiding you both and in doing that I think I've hurt you. So this will be my way of making it up to you."

"Don't make it up to me. Make it up to Atemu."

Seto furrowed his eyebrows. "But you two are the same."

"Yes, but he thinks like a child and right now he's thinking you don't want him anymore. You made a promise to him when you brought him here and now his mind is filled with self-doubt that once again he's messed things up."

This was one of the few times that Seto had ever felt shame before. How could he have hurt a child? Didn't he always do everything in his power to keep Mokuba happy? So what makes this any different? Yami was right - Atemu was a child, who even despite his intelligence, was still had the heart and emotions of a five year old.

He looked straight into impassive crimson eyes. "How do I make it up to him?"

Yami smiled and Seto found himself captivated by it. "Spend time with him, fire that damn nanny. Do you know how annoying it is to have your cheeks pinched every five minutes? Take him to the park; buy him a pet to keep him occupied when you can't be around him. But most important, apologize to him."

"Are you sure that will work?"

With another smile, Yami sat up, sheets pooling at his waist as he held out one hand towards Seto and patted the space beside him on the bed with the other. Taking the golden hand into his own, Seto paused for a moment to notice the soft warmth before he stood up only to sit back down on the bed beside the other.

"It will work. Trust me, he only wants someone to love him for who he is, even if he does have my unusual quirks."

"Alright," Seto closed his eyes for a second, quickly formulating a plan for Atemu's forgiveness before he opened them up to look back at Yami who was sitting there patiently, waiting for him to figure out his mind.

"What about you?"

Yami looked genuinely startled by his question. "What do you mean 'what about me'?"

"Exactly what I said, what do I have to do to earn your forgiveness?"

A deep, baritone chuckle filled the silent room. "Kiss me?"

Eyes wide, Seto leaned back some, away from the other. "Excuse me?"

"You asked for a way to gain my forgiveness and I gave you one. Kiss me."

"A kiss?" he asked again, perplexed that something like that had been requested. "Why? You could have anything you wanted and yet all you ask for is…._that_?"

"I don't want anything else."

Seto was shocked by the truthfulness in those exotic, alluring eyes. He hadn't though much about kissing Yami even if he did admit that he was gorgeous. Ok, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad to give him a peck on the lips…and it _was_ the cheaper way out.

Nodding his head, Yami gave him a small smile and raised himself up on his knees to make up for the difference in their heights. Seto tried not to be disappointed when he noticed that the sheets slid away only to reveal a pair of intact red shorts.

Realizing he was going to have to make the first move, Seto twisted at his waist, and without a second thought, pressed their lips together, intent on making it as short and painless as possible.

Too bad Yami had other intentions.

Small, golden hands wound their way to the back of his neck and into his hair, curling it into his fingers and holding him firmly in place. Shock and something akin to excitement coursed through him as Yami's teeth gently nipped at his bottom lip, granting him the wanted when Seto's mouth seemed to have a will of its own.

The feeling of being dominated snapped Seto back to reality and with a growl, he forced Yami back onto the bed, lips never breaking contact as he covered the smaller body with his own.

Finally, they broke part, sapphire eyes sliding open – although he wasn't sure exactly when they had closed – to find Yami laying underneath him, perfectly still, eyes still closed with the a thoughtful look on his face.

What the hell could he be thinking about at a time like this?

"Yami?"

Crimson eyes slowly slid open as he tilted his head to the side. The fingers that were once in the back of his hair were now gently brushing chestnut locks out of Seto's eyes. "I can't figure it out."

"Figure what out?"

"What you taste like."

Seto quirked an eyebrow. He knew he was a good kisser, he had been told that countless times, but was he so good that he made Yami lose his mind? Well, he was amazing…… "Care to explain that?"

"Well, this past week I've been reading a lot. Nothing much to do around here when your 'father' is purposely ignoring you." Well the guilt was back. "Anyways, all of the books I read seemed to think that when you kissed someone that you could taste them. According to the authors, you should taste like spice, or a desert's breeze, or like strawberries."

"So what do I taste like?" He couldn't help but wonder. If he tasted something like chocolate or fine wine then that would explain one of the reasons why he had always been labeled a good kisser….

"You taste like….well _spit._"

Seto stared at him incredulously for all of thirty seconds before the corners of his mouth started to twitch until it broke into a grin followed by laughter as Seto buried his face in Yami's neck. "You need help," he mumbled against the soft, golden flesh.

"Probably, but what I need most is for you to stay with me tonight."

"What about Atemu?"

He heard Yami sigh as he shifted a little, trying to get more comfortable with his weight on top of him. "He'll only think his father decided to get his head out of his ass and see him."

Nodding his head, Seto pried himself off of Yami, got off the bed and stripped down to pants before crawling back in next to the other male, who immediately snuggled up against him, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Bright, white harsh light pulled Seto out of his surprisingly pleasant dreams. It had been long time he had slept so soundly, and judging for the brightness of the sun, he had slept later than he usually did. But yet there was something not quite right….the bed seemed too soft, the covers almost too small, and the angle of the window all wrong.

Blinking back several wonderful hours of sleep, Seto gazed around in a hazy daze only to land on the face of his son staring back at him with a mix of anger and confusion. Atemu was sitting beside him, Indian style, with Crackers seated firmly in his lap.

"What time is it?" Seto asked as he too sat up and scooted back towards the headboard so he could lean on it.

"Oh, so the great CEO speaks to me now?" Atemu sneered, doing a wonderful impression of the CEO himself. "What made you change your mind? Afraid Child Services will come and arrest you for neglecting me? Don't worry, I'm not a tattle tale."

_Well, there was that guilt thing again,_ he thought as Atemu swung his legs around and jumped off the bed, heading towards the door with Crackers still in his hands.

"Atemu, wait."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" Atemu did stop but didn't look over his shoulder as he had spoken, causing Seto to flinch.

"I'm sorry…for avoiding you." Little shoulders tensed up causing his back to straighten. "I didn't mean to make you upset, it wasn't my intentions….all I wanted was some space to clear my mind and think about a few things."

"You regret getting me?" the child's voice was nothing more than a whisper but the words were loud and clear. Shaking his head, even though his son couldn't see it, Seto got off the bed and walked over to Atemu, and kneeled down in front of him. Taking Atemu's chin gently in his fingers, Seto forced their gazes to meet.

"No," he said with as much conviction in his voice as he could muster without sounding harsh. "My only regret is the way I acted last week towards you."

Round crimson eyes studied him intently while tiny fingers stroked the orange stuffed animal in his hands. Seto could still see the lingering doubt within Atemu and decided to go with another one of Yami's plans.

"Tell you what, how about I fire that nanny and hire a part time _younger _sitter to save your cheeks and to watch over you the few days you can't go to KC with me. And why don't I buy you a pet of your choice to help keep you company when I can't be around?"

"So, you're going to keep me even though I messed things up?"

Seto gave Atemu a grim smile, "_You_ didn't mess up. I did. It seems to be a bad habit of mine when it comes to people's feelings. And yes, you are going to stay right here with me." _At least till the curse has been reversed, _he thought to himself.

"Yes, you are dipwad, a stubborn ass old fart of a dipwad."

Seto narrowed his eyes but couldn't hold back the smile that formed as Atemu's infamous smirk graced his chubby face. "And you're a midget."

"At least that only reflects on my height and not my brain like my insults do yours."

With an amused snort, Seto stared at Atemu, both of them smiling outright now when suddenly the small child flung himself into Seto's arms, squishing Crackers between their bodies. Seto sighed; glad everything had worked out this morning as well as last night if that kiss was any indication on how well things were turning out.

Still, he was slightly confused by all of this for he knew deep down - _really deep down_ - that he was falling for them. Atemu's sweet innocence and wit, Yami's looks and insightfulness….what would they be like when they were whole again. Would the 'child' completely disappear or would they meld together in an interesting combination?

Only time would tell he guessed.

"So….you said something about a pet?"

Pulling back and dropping his arms to his side, Seto looked at Atemu with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I believe something was mentioned about that."

"Can I have a donkey then and name it Seto?"

Sapphire eyes narrowed, "Reason being?"

"Cause it's an ass and you're an ass?"

Seto growled low in his throat as he lunged for the giggling child, getting a squeal of delight out of Atemu when he was ungracefully tackled to the floor and tickled to death.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pepperidge Farms or its products_

**Chapter 6**

Seto sighed, closing his eyes, letting his senses be flooded with the wonderful scent of freshly brewed coffee. The steaming drink was mentally being worshipped, its affects doing wonders to the sleepy CEO and father of one hyperactive five year old.

Two weeks had passed since him and Atemu (and Yami) had _made up,_ so to speak, and between he and his son arguing over what kind of pet they should get (well, more like Atemu telling him what he wanted and Seto telling the child want he was _allowed_ to have, eventually settling on a two hundred gallon fish tank with more goldfish than he cared to know about), Yami's tempting advances towards him, his own erotic dreams, and a sugar high child…Seto had gotten less sleep and peace and quiet in that small amount of time than he did his entire life.

So, in order to save his sanity, he put together a plan. And while its basis could be drawn from something his own hellish father did to him, he had tweaked it to be more suited and harmless than the version he had been subjected too.

Atemu was a bright child, one that he knew with in his own heart that would be able to deal with the task assigned to him, and hopefully, keep him busy enough that Seto could deal with his own work.

Last week, he had sat his son down, and gave him an offer, one that Atemu had joyously grabbed up and ran with, eager to show his father what he could do.

Seto had given him no less than a hundred thousand dollars and told him to reinvest it in the stock market, giving him one month's time to earn back a hundred times the original amount. And to make sure the five year old didn't lose track, Seto demanded weekly (on Saturdays) progress reports.

So, as he sat there with his cup of coffee on the day of the first report, Seto was slightly curious as to what the young child had done so far.

A knock at the kitchen door cause him to look up, quirking an eyebrow at his younger brother who was standing there. Mokuba had dropped by the is weekend, wanting to spend time with his nephew, who had as soon as he entered, tackled the raven-hair male and promptly dragged him up the stairs without so much as a explanation to his father.

That had been two hours ago.

"Why the hell are you knocking?"

Mokuba just smiled, a twinkle in his eye (something that worried the older Kaiba greatly) and cleared his throat before speaking. "Mr. Kaiba, sir, there is someone here to see you."

"Huh? What are you going on about?"

Slate-gray eyes narrowed, arms crossed over his chest and he mouthed, "Play along."

Confused and curious, he nodded his head, figuring this had something to do with his son. "Alright then, show them in."

Giving his brother a wink, he stepped to the side, looking back behind him as if to give the person an 'ok' when he heard a rather _loud_, heated childish whisper.

"NO! You have to introduce me!"

Blue eyes rolled and he sat his mug down on the table in front of him as his brother turned back to him, rolling his eyes also. "Sorry, Mr. Kaiba, Mr. Atemu is here to see you."

Before Seto could say a word, a small less than three-foot figure stepped around the corner and he choked back a laugh that would have sent him falling off the chair and onto the hard white tiled kitchen floor. There was Atemu, hair slicked back with gel and tied in a low ponytail, his new three-piece business navy blue business suit Seto had bought him for formal dinner parties he might be required to attend. Around his neck was a dark blue tie with little embroidered clownfish arranged in diagonal lines, and he was carrying…or lugging should he say, his old silver metal briefcase he used to carry around when he was a teenager.

Atemu was taking this way too seriously… but damn if it wasn't cute.

Getting his _coughing_ under control, he watched as passively as possible as Atemu all but dragged the heavy briefcase across the floor and over to the table. He pulled out a chair, crawled up on to it before bending over and hefting the case up and practically swinging it up on the table, letting it land with a hard _thud_, rattling his cup in the process.

As Atemu proceeded to mess with the locks, Seto flicked his eyes towards his brother, who was now leaning against the doorframe with a wide grin on his face. A clearing of a throat brought his attention back to his son, who was sitting on the chair now, gazing at him with narrowed eyes.

"Time is valuable Mr. Kaiba, it should not be wasted by looking at your subordinates."

Mokuba choked and Seto smirked, giving a curt nod of his head. "Your right, Mr. Atemu, my apologies."

Crimson eyed flickered back between the two Kaiba brother's before he reached into the briefcase and pulled out a folder file, sliding it across the table. "I believe you wanted to see a weekly report on my stocks?"

"Ahem…yes I did," he responded as he opened up the file, holding back at chuckle when he spied the graphs in front of him, each having been made with different colors, the waxy lines proving they were indeed done with crayons. Just as he was about to flip to the next page, a long, slender metal pointer slapped down on the page, pointing to the first graph. Seto lifted his head with a raised eyebrow. Atemu was still sitting in his seat, his arm stretched across the wooden surface, his eyes narrowed as he used the metal pointer to reach the distance.

He bit back a smile. Atemu was really serious about all this, and he just couldn't hurt the child's feelings by laughing at him. But, he had to admit, the graphs were correct and informative. And Mokuba's neat hand writing along side them, told Seto what his brother had been up too for the past few hours.

"As you can see, just in the past week, my stocks in Pepperidge Farm has doubled…"

"Pepperidge Farms?"

Atemu tilted his head to the side, his ponytail swaying with the motion. "Who else makes Goldfish Crackers…in rainbow colors no less?"

Biting his lip, Seto bowed his head, not only to agree but also to hide the smile tugging on his lips. "You're right, forgive me. It seems you've done well with your investments in only a week."

There was a haughty sniff from an upturned nose and crimson eyes narrowed when he heard low snickers coming from the doorway behind him. "You expected less from me?" His father shook his head, opened his mouth ready to respond, when Atemu suddenly spun his head around, his thumb jerking in the direction of a red faced laughing uncle clinging to the wall for support. "And what the hell is he still doing here? What kind of business do you run with your lowly subordinates listening in on confidential meetings?"

Seto had all he could take. Hearty laughter erupted from his mouth, his arms coming around his waist to support himself as he leaned over the table, his shoulders shaking from the strain of unbelievable mirth. He was so caught up in the hilarity of the moment that he failed to hear the scrapping of a chair across the floor, or sound of small footsteps running from the room until his brother's voice calling out his name caused him to look up to see Mokuba with a frown on his face.

Blue eyes glanced away, back to the now empty seat across from him. He sighed, pushing his own chair back, grabbed the file and walked past his brother in search for his son. He couldn't believe his own stupidity at the moment…he should have known that Atemu would have taken it personally. The little Egyptian was very prideful and –whether he admitted it or not- self conscious about himself. Having been turned down over and over again by adults because of an intellect he couldn't explain left him vulnerable to how people thought about him.

He followed the sound of cuss words to the child's room and didn't bother to knock as he opened the door and stepped into the room. Atemu was standing before his mirror, tugging on the small rubber band that had held his hair back. Placing the folder on the bed, he went over and gently pushed his son's hands away and began the task of untangling the mess the little one had made in his efforts.

"Atemu," Seto paused, frowning at the glare that was sent to him through the reflection of the tall mirror. "You ran out before I could congratulate you on your excellent work."

"Yeah, well, between all that laughing I'm surprised you even noticed it." Rubber band now free, Atemu reached up and began to run his fingers through his hair, working the gel free.

"I wasn't laughing at your work, or even you really." Seto paused trying to find the right words, his fingers absentmindedly running through his son's hair. "This house used to be so quiet, lonely ever since Mokuba left. And even when he was here it wasn't like it is now. With you here….I haven't laughed or smiled so much before. You," and Yami he added silently in his mind, "have made this place a home."

"So," Atemu turned around, wide crimson eyes glancing up at his father. "You're laughing cause…you're happy?"

"Yes."

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Seto glanced up from the screen of his computer to see Yami perched on the edge of his desk. Glancing over to the clocked he realized it was midnight and he had been so caught up in his research that he had totally lost track of time. "Didn't realize it was midnight…"

Yami frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "Actually, I changed five minutes _before _twelve."

"Oh?" Seto spun his chair around, looking at the thoughtful male before him. "Has this happened before?"

He shook his head, hoping off the desk to start pacing the floor. "No, this is the first. Maybe this thing is wearing off? I mean with my personality slowly emerging through Atemu's and now _this…._then again, it could be just a fluke and we won't know that until tomorrow night to see if it happens again."

Seto just watched, his own mind turning over the new information. Could it be that the curse was wearing off? If that was true, how much longer did he have with both Atemu and Yami…of course, Yami was staying but would he be the same man? Would he even want to stay around once he was normal again?

Whether he admitted it out loud or not, the CEO had come to enjoy these nightly visits and the company in his bed, even if they didn't go beyond just holding and sleeping. It was nice to know someone was there, in the dark, with him, holding him as he held them.

It was… comfortable and oddly relaxing.

And he knew in the mornings that Atemu also liked waking up to find his father sleeping beside him – even if he did get teased about it.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

Seto's head snapped up, his eyes focusing on the curious narrowed crimson gaze. "What?"

Yami just rolled his eyes as he walked over and helped himself to Seto's lap, straddling the longer legs of the other male. "What are – or were – you doing?"

"Oh, researching this curse thing."

Yami blinked before cracking an indulgent smile. "You realize, that curses are magic and therefore probably won't be solved by looking on the web, right?"

Scoffing, Seto turned his chair around; his long arms snaking around either side of Yami, letting his fingers touch the keys of his laptop once again. "Magic, hn. There is a scientific reason behind everything and everything can be found on the Internet. _Therefore_, I will find the answer given enough time and my superior hacking abilities."

Crimson eyes rolled as he leaned back, pressing against the edge of the desk to get a better look at Seto. "Good thing Atemu likes you, 'cause you just made yourself look like ass….yet _again._ A pompous ass, but still an ass."

"Yeah, well, we've already established what that little brat thinks of me. Question is what do you think?"

"Oh, that's easy. I think you have a very cute ass." Yami smirked, leaning forward again, his crimson eyes shining from the lamplight. "A surprisingly sweet, cute pompous ass. I think I might want to keep you."

Seto blinked and decided to throw the 'sweet and pompous' part out the window and concentrate on the 'cute ass' part. _That_ was much easier to deal with in the early morning hours, especially when Yami was sitting on his lap looking at him in such a manner….

"Why don't our _asses_ to bed then and get naked? Then I can decide if I want to keep _you_ or not."

Yami chuckled, climbing off of Seto, "Sorry, _Big Daddy_, but unless you want to explain to Atemu why his ass hurts in the morning, that's a no thank you. That is, unless you want to be the one on the bottom."

Seto's face paled.


End file.
